COVID 19 CRISIS – LET NOT AMERICA LOSE IT’S CONFIDENCE

By N.S.Venkataraman

President of USA and his advisers obviously are not clear about the strategies to be adopted to overcome the crisis. When President Trump claimed that hydroxychloroquine could be the appropriate drug for COVID 19, he was immediately contradicted by section of medical experts in USA. This has created confusion in the mindset of Americans as to what is the appropriate drug and why there is no unanimous view .

(Image Credits: Drew Angerer-Getty Images)

COVID 19 has turned the world upside down in just three months. While the world community remain shell shocked and governments are grappling with the problems, the particular reason for severely upsetting the confidence amongst the world community to this extent is the widespread infection, large number of death and consequent distress that has resulted in United States of America.

Question amongst world community :

Whatever may be the plus and minus of America, the world has recognized America as the most scientifically and technologically advanced country in the world. With the extent of present COVID 19 crisis scenario in USA , many wonder what would be the fate of world, if even USA is unable to manage this crisis. This is the question uppermost in the mind of the people around the world.

The fact is that not only the citizens and government in USA but all the world governments and world community are equally concerned and everyone is looking for a day when USA would recover from the present grim scenario and bring the COVID 19 under control and give a lead to the world.

The world community is concerned that if USA would go down to an unacceptable level due to COVID 19, the day would not be far off when the entire world would go down in similar way.

China’s “claim” not boosting confidence :

While China , which is the originator of COVID 19, claims that it has overcome the COVID 19 crisis and is almost free from the COVID 19 , this claim of China has not created confidence in the world, since China’s credibility is not high. With the dictatorial regime and freedom of speech and media freedom severely curtailed and critics and dissenters ruthlessly eliminated , there is a world view that any claim of China has to be taken with a pinch of salt or even with suspicion. This is so ,since only communication from Chinese government is available for the world, which cannot be verified from alternate source.

U S administration seems to lack clarity :

President of USA and his advisers obviously are not clear about the strategies to be adopted to overcome the crisis. When President Trump claimed that hydroxychloroquine could be the appropriate drug for COVID 19, he was immediately contradicted by section of medical experts in USA. This has created confusion in the mindset of Americans as to what is the appropriate drug and why there is no unanimous view .

America stands humbled :

It is a fact that America stands humbled today and is suffering from crisis of confidence, which is indicated by the fact that President Trump has no hesitation in accepting medical equipment from it’s cold war era enemy Russia and accepting plane load of safety masks from China, against which President Trump has launched trade war recently. In spite of the fact that India is still a developing country with the size of it’s economy nowhere near that of USA, President Trump has appealed to Indian Prime Minister Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablets to USA. In the pre COVID 19 period, we could not have seen such scenario, where USA thought that it needs support desperately from other countries to sustain itself.

Mindset of Americans now :

Not withstanding the present crisis in USA and crisis of confidence that Americans face today, America seems to have no alternative at present time , other than hoping that this crisis will pass away like every other good or bad event in the world . Americans hope that this could pass away sooner or later – perhaps, sooner than later.

Crisis not due to lack of scientific expertise :

In the case of drug discovery, America’s position in the world is unrivalled.

In the medical treatment procedures, America has been the pioneer in several directions.

Therefore, the present crisis faced by USA is not due to lack of scientific expertise but inspite of it.

Is the criticism against President Trump justified ?:

The critics say that President Trump has not reacted to the COVID 19 scenario in January/ February,2020 when the virus entered USA and preventive steps were not taken then. It is reported that around 0.45 million Chinese travellers were allowed to enter USA in January/ February and they were not checked for infection. This appears to be the right criticism to some extent, though made now and not earlier.

However, it should be noted that Presidents of USA take decisions after receiving inputs, guidance and advice from experts in different fields on various matters. It is also seen that some of the same advisers have worked under different Presidents in the past.

Obviously, President Trump could have treated the matter lightly in February/ March , since it could have been “scientifically” explained to US President by his advisers that USA would not be impacted by COVID 19 to this extent.

It is always easy to be wise after the event. It appears that President Trump is not being given the benefit of doubt by the critics.

Let not America lose it’s confidence :

All said and done, Americans should remain brave and retain confidence in the present adverse situation.

USA has lot of basic and fundamental strength and it has done enormous good to the world in the field of education, by achievements in the field of science and technology etc.

The present crisis should not be allowed to erode the confidence of USA, gained due to it’s spectacular achievements in the past and it’s future capabilities.

(Author N. S. Venkataraman is a trustee with the "Nandini Voice for the Deprived," a not-for-profit organization that aims to highlight the problems of downtrodden and deprived people and support their cause. To promote probity and ethical values in private and public life and to deliberate on socio-economic issues in a dispassionate and objective manner.)

Get The Nepal24Hours.com App

Follow Us On :

www.nepal24hours.comIntegration Through Media under Nepal24hours Inc, is a dedicated online news service delivering and Staffed 24 hours, seven days a week by a dedicated staff at its head office in 11843 Elaine Ave, Artesia, CA 90701, USA, its bureau office in Kathmandu, Nepal and in bureau offices elsewhere brings the latest and up to date news service. The online news service is being presently served by 16 news professionals. The online news services equipped with latest media technologies and features the latest multimedia technologies, from live video streaming to audio visual packages to searchable archives of news features and background information. The site is updated continuously throughout day and night from the USA and Nepal equally.